As we have started yet another brand-new year, we are proud to continue to build on a tradition that we have now established of bringing you regular publications of our Price Norm. The Price Norm has now become an accepted staple in the procurement landscape and it is being referenced by key stakeholders such as our donor partners and other oversight institutions as an authoritative guide in providing competitive market prices. However, we will not rest on our laurels as we believe in the mantra of continuous improvement. Therefore, we count our success based on our ability to successfully produce the next Norm and the next thereafter.

At the NPPA, we have worked assiduously to ensure that the prices contained therein are indeed reflective of current market prices and trends. We envision that this year is going to be a defining year in the field of public sector procurement and as a regulatory body, we see a lot of upcoming challenges, especially in the area of financing the continuance of our activities, including the production of the Price Norms. However, we will not relent and will ensure that our work continues despite any challenges posed. Challenges will not deter but will further drive our ambition to succeed.

We continue to issue out a clarion call to all in the field of procurement to work with the regulatory body in seeking to sanitize procurement activities nationally by improving on compliance to processes and procedures and ensuring that competitive and mutually beneficial relationships are established between procuring entities and the supplier community.

Since we have now established regularity of publication of the Price Norm, we now look forward to bringing about price rationalization and consistency in quoted prices. This will involve deeper interaction and engagement between NPPA, the procuring entities and the supplier community. In short, it will require enhanced monitoring and cooperative.

In closing, I once again continue to implore all of you to make extensive use of the Price Norm in your daily purchasing activities.

Ibrahim Brima Swarray

Chief Executive – NPPA